An October 2010 loss to Brendan Schaub dropped Gonzaga to just 1-3 in his previous four outings, and the former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champ strongly considered forever hanging up his gloves.

But Gonzaga returns tonight for a heavyweight title fight against Parker Porter (5-2) at the aptly named “Reality Fighting: Gonzaga vs. Porter” event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. “Napao” admits he doesn’t know what comes after that, but he’s touched by those that encouraged him to return.

“There were a lot of fans and students of mine asking me to return,” Gonzaga recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in his native Portuguese. “There were some e-mails that touched me – from people I’ve never met – talking about how I helped them in life. That was very gratifying.”

And so the 32-year-old, who studied under Wander Braga from his grappling beginnings until he was awarded his black belt, turned to Marco Alvan, Alexandre Moreno and the rest of the crew at Massachusetts’ Team Link and sought their advice.

“Fight,” came the answer.

But returning to action wasn’t such an easy proposition. For a variety of reasons, the 12-time UFC veteran saw five different planned bouts fall through. But Gonzaga didn’t give up, encouraged by those for whom he had previously provided motivation.

And so on Saturday night, Gonzaga fights for the first time in nearly a year. The oft-jovial submission wizard who is best known for a highlight-reel knockout of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, as well as a highlight-reel TKO loss to UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, admits he’s not sure how far this comeback will go, but he’s excited to once again test himself in MMA.

“To be honest, I don’t yet know what I want,” Gonzaga said. “Life is very complex. I’m a Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher first and foremost, and I’ve been doing this for 12 years. I’ve awarded black belts, and we’ve had many champions, such as Demerval “Naja” Jr. MMA was a way for me to earn money, and it’s a sport I enjoy, but Brazilian jiu-jitsu is my passion.

“Every champion must defend his belt, but I haven’t won yet, so I’m not thinking about that. I’m just very ready for my fight, and I hope to continue to be a good example and to build champions who can also be exemplary.”

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